Explore the valleys
The Judrio Valley stretches along the course of the river of the same name, which for long stretches marks the natural border between Italy and Slovenia, crossing a quiet and secluded landscape in the heart of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is not merely a geographical valley, but a boundary space that has deeply shaped the historical, cultural, and linguistic experiences of the communities living there.
Throughout the 20th century, the valley bore witness to war fronts, political and ideological divisions, migrations, and shifting identities. Yet despite these traumas, it has preserved – and in part rebuilt – a layered memory made up of multiple affiliations, interwoven languages, rituals, and traditional knowledge shared across both sides of the border.
The Slovenian communities inhabiting this territory are bearers of a living culture, deeply rooted in the land but also open to dialogue and reinterpretation of the past. Architectural traces, agricultural practices, landscape forms, and oral histories passed down through families form a precious mosaic in which the valley is never just a backdrop but the protagonist of a complex human and historical experience.
Today, the Judrio Valley represents a space for reflection on the meaning of borders — not only as lines of separation, but as places of encounter, where memories, languages, and cultures have learned — often silently — to coexist, blend, and transform.